From Crypto Earn to Crypto.com VISA cards, this guide covers all the popular staking and saving opportunities offered by the exchange.
Crypto.com is one of the top cryptocurrency exchanges launched in 2016. The company’s staff serves more than 50 million customers around the world, and its celebrity ambassadors include Hollywood actor Matt Damon, as well as NBA all-stars LeBron James and Joel Embiid.
Crypto.com offers numerous products and services that allow you to earn passive income. Crypto Earn, for instance, can help you grow your crypto holdings conveniently. Similarly, you can receive some crypto cashback by paying for goods and services with Crypto.com’s VISA cards.
In this guide, we will deep dive into staking and savings options offered by the exchange. Let’s begin!
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Staking on Crypto.com
What Is Staking?
Cryptocurrencies are built on blockchains – a type of distributed ledger technology – and use consensus mechanisms to process transactions. Consensus mechanisms come in various formats, but most cryptocurrencies use either proof of work (PoW) or proof of stake (PoS).
PoS crypto projects, like Cardano, don’t require expensive equipment to run, and they use significantly less energy to process transactions than PoW cryptos, like Bitcoin. Hence why many of the newer projects are using PoS mechanism.
PoS cryptocurrencies use validator nodes, which anybody can run, to authenticate the transactions on their chains. To run a validator node, you need to commit – or stake – a set quantity of crypto to the chain, almost like a deposit. Validators with staked deposits receive crypto rewards for authenticating transactions, which is what we really mean by the term “staking.”
Don’t worry, you don’t have to run a validator node to earn staking rewards. You can also stake through a third party or exchange, like Crypto.com’s staking service, Crypto Earn.
Crypto.com’s Earn
Crypto Earn is Crypto.com’s staking hub.
Through Crypto Earn, you can earn staking rewards from more than forty different cryptocurrencies and tokens, including Cardano, Flow, and Solana. You can also earn interest rewards by staking a few cryptocurrencies that don’t run on PoS blockchains, like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Staking returns peak at around 14.5% p.a. and vary based on different crypto projects. Cryptocurrencies built with PoW consensus mechanisms yield comparatively lower interest rates than those that use PoS. Bitcoin and Ethereum, for instance, yield at most 6% p.a., whereas Poly and Matic can both net you up to 12.5% p.a.
Unlike most other staking providers, Crypto.com’s returns fluctuate from user to user. The three main variables that can affect your returns are: whether you choose to stake for a fixed time period, how much staked CRO you have in your Crypto.com wallet, and the US dollar value of the crypto you want to stake.
We’re now going to guide you how these variables can affect your returns, starting with staking agreements.
Flexible or Fixed-Term Staking: Which Is Better?
Whenever you stake crypto through Crypto Earn, you have to choose how long you want your funds locked up. You have three options: a one-month fixed term agreement, a three-month fixed term agreement, or a flexible agreement.
You will achieve higher returns if you choose either the one or three-month fixed-term options, but you can’t withdraw your money until the term expires. A flexible agreement, on the other hand, will yield lower returns, but you will be able to withdraw your funds whenever you like.
As an example, let’s say you want to stake $500 worth of MATIC tokens for a year. On a flexible agreement, you would earn 5% p.a., or $25. Comparatively, staking with fixed term agreements would yield you 11% p.a., or $55. It’s you who has to decide whether the risk of locking your money up is worth the additional rewards.
Unlike on other exchanges, if you leave your funds unstaked in your Crypto.com account, they sometimes earn a little interest through what’s called “Soft Staking.” The rewards are significantly lower than both fixed term and flexible staking terms – between 0.25-2% - but don’t require any work or any financial commitment on your part.
The duration for which you choose to stake will affect your returns more than any other variable, but remember: do not stake crypto for a fixed term if you might need to sell it at some point during that period. You will not be able to withdraw it, no matter how badly you need it.
The second key variable that can affect your staking returns is the quantity of staked Cronos ($CRO) in your Crypto.com exchange account.
The Benefits of CRO Staking
Staking CRO tokens through your Crypto.com account grants you access to a premium Crypto.com Visa card, cashback from your online purchases, and, most importantly, boosted returns from staking other cryptocurrencies. The exact yield increase you can expect varies for different coins and tokens, but it rises proportionally with the amount of staked CRO you have in your account.
As an example, let’s say you want to stake $10,000 of USDC for a year using fixed-term agreements. If you had less than $400 staked CRO, your annual return would be 6%, or $600. Whereas if you had more than $4,000 of staked CRO, your return would increase by $200 to 8%.
Crypto.com’s Staking Rewards Cap
From June 1st, 2022, only your first $3,000 staked through fixed-term agreements will return the full rewards rate. Your returns will drop by half on any staked balance above $3,000 and below $30,000, and any balance over that amount will return just 15% of the full staking return rate.
The image below outlines Crypto.com’s new return rates as of June 1st.
What’s the Best Way to Boost Your Crypto.com Staking Returns?
Comparatively, staking your crypto for one or three-month terms will usually provide better returns than staking stacks of Cronos, particularly if you want to stake small amounts. However, if you want to stake more than $30,000, you will benefit more by buying and staking CRO, due to Crypto.com’s fixed-term interest cap.
We should also mention that it’s possible to earn an additional 2% interest p.a. from fixed-term agreements if you own one of Crypto.com’s premium VISA cards. We chose not to include this as a variable because these cards require you to stake at least $40,000 of CRO, and are, therefore, unattainable for most people.
For a complete breakdown of how to calculate your returns for each crypto using Crypto Earn, see here.
Alternatively, you can use Crypto.com’s staking calculator here.
How to Stake Cryptocurrency on Crypto.com?
Before you can use Crypto Earn, you need to set up an account with Crypto.com. If you don’t have one already, follow this link to sign up. After setting up an account, you will then need to purchase the minimum staking quantity for whichever crypto you want to stake. If you aren’t sure whether you have enough, you can consult the Crypto.com guidance here.
After you have purchased the required minimum amount, work through the following steps:
- Download the Crypto.com app.
- On the taskbar, click the “Accounts” button.
- Click “Crypto Earn.”
- Click the blue “Start Earning Now” button.
- Select the crypto you want to stake from the list.
- Select your desired staking term length.
- Check all the terms and conditions.
- Enter in the amount you want to stake.
- Click “Deposit.”
- Check the details are correct, then hit “Confirm.”
- Lastly, enter your password.
That’s all there is to it!
Earning Crypto on Crypto.com
Crypto.com offers two services that can save you money and net you some extra cash: Crypto-VISA cards and the Crypto.com digital pay portal.
Crypto.com’s VISA Cards
Crypto.com’s VISA cards are crypto debit cards that you can use at any store that accepts VISA - which is about 44 million merchants at the time of writing. They technically aren’t debit cards, but they function similarly, in that your balance cannot go below zero. However, as they aren’t linked to your bank account, you have to top them up to use them, which you can do from Crypto.com’s app.
There are five tiers of cards, four of which require you to stake a certain number of CRO tokens for six months before you can use them. The lowest tier, Midnight Blue, doesn’t require any staked CRO at all, whereas the Obsidian card requires you to stake $400,000. The image below shows the staking amounts required for each card.
The cards that require higher CRO stakes provide superior CRO rewards, which are essentially cashbacks on any amount you spend with the card. The rewards are paid in CRO tokens, and you need to have staked the required CRO tokens for six months before you can earn any CRO rewards.
Besides CRO rewards, each of Crypto.com’s VISA cards provides a diverse range of benefits as well, which we have outlined below.
Midnight Blue
This is Crypto.com’s entry-level card. You don’t need to stake any CRO tokens to get one, but it has a few perks. You only earn up to 1% CRO rewards on your spending, and your monthly cash withdrawals are limited to $200.
Ruby Steel
Ruby is the second-tier card. You need to stake $400 for 180 days to get one, and you can earn up to 2% CRO rewards. You also receive a free yearly Spotify subscription, valued at $119.88, and you can withdraw up to $400 in cash from ATMs before you incur any fees.
Royal Indigo & Jade Green
The Indigo and Green cards are Crypto.com’s third tier. A stake of $4,000 in CRO is required, for which you receive 3% CRO rewards, as well as yearly Spotify and Netflix subscriptions. As an added bonus, these cards also grant you access to airport lounges, and your monthly ATM withdrawal limit is double that of the previous tier, at $800.
Frosted Rose Gold and Icy White
Crypto.com’s gold and white cards make up the fourth tier and require a sum of $40,000 in staked CRO tokens. In exchange for this princely sum, you receive 5% CRO rewards on your spending, in addition to yearly Spotify, Netflix, and Amazon Prime subscriptions.
Like the previous tier, you get airport lounge access, but you also receive a 10% rebate on any spending with Airbnb. These cards allow you to withdraw up to $1,000 from ATMs every month without incurring fees and will boost your staking rewards by 2% p.a.
Obsidian
Obsidian is the highest and final tier of Crypto.com’s VISA cards. This card requires a whopping $400,000 USD of staked CRO but comes with an enormous array of benefits, including 8% CRO rewards on your purchases.
As you would expect, an Obsidian card gets you all the perks from the lower tiers, as well as a 10% rebate on your spending with Airbnb, a private jet partnership with Crypto.com, and an additional 2% p.a. boost to your staking returns.
At present, Crypto.com doesn’t charge fees for any of its VISA cards. However, as previously mentioned, you do need to stake the required amount of CRO tokens for at least six months to get any of the bonuses.
Changes to Crypto.com’s VISA Card Rewards
Crypto.com released a statement about potential changes to its CRO card rewards program which would reduce returns for most card holders. Additionally, the company reportedly intends to cap rewards for its Ruby Steel cards at $25 per month, and Royal Indigo and Jade Green cards at $50 per month.
The image below shows the revised CRO rewards that VISA card holders will earn from June 1st, 2022.
However, it’s possible that these changes won’t be implemented. When the company first announced these changes, it faced a ferocious backlash on social media and has since revised or rolled back some of the other changes. Therefore it’s plausible that these reductions would fade away as well.
For more information on how Crypto.com’s rewards scheme could change, follow this link.
How to Apply For a Crypto.com VISA Card
To apply for one of Crypto.com’s VISA cards, follow the steps below:
- Download the company’s app and sign up for an account.
- Complete the KYC checks within the app.
- Purchase the amount of CRO tokens you need to fulfill the requirement for your desired card.
- Navigate to the “Card” tab.
- Hit the “Stake CRO,” button.
- Follow the on-screen instructions.
Crypto.com will contact you when your card will be dispatched.
Crypto.com Pay
Crypto.com Pay lets you pay for products using more than thirty different cryptocurrencies directly from your Crypto.com wallet, and earn up to 10% CRO rewards for doing so, provided you pay with CRO tokens. You can also earn gift cards to spend in fashion, entertainment, and retail outlets as well.
The Pay feature integrates with numerous e-commerce platforms like Shopify, which enables merchants who use Shopify to accept crypto payments. More than 300,000 shops in thirty different countries accept Crypto.com Pay already, including Starbucks, eBay, and Airbnb. You can also use it to pay for NFTs.
For a full breakdown of all the Crypto.com pay rewards and participating merchants, follow this link.
How to Pay For Products Using Crypto.com Pay
Follow the steps below to pay for goods and services online using Crypto.com Pay from a web browser.
- Check the merchant accepts Crypto.com Pay. For a full list, see here.
- After adding your desired items to the basket, go to the checkout.
- Choose “Crypto.com” as the payment method.
- Agree to the terms and conditions.
- Click the “Crypto.com Pay” button.
- When a QR code appears, open your Crypto.com app and click the shopping bag icon on the home screen.
- Click “Scan,” and then scan the QR code on the merchant’s website.
- Choose which cryptocurrency you wish to pay with, then click “Continue to Review.” Remember, you can earn cashback by paying with CRO tokens.
- Review the payment.
- Click “Confirm.”
Using Crypto.com Pay through the mobile app is similar, except you won’t need to scan a QR code. Instead, your mobile browser will prompt you to open the Crypto.com app to authorize the payment.
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